Summer Night
by Airrei
Summary: ShizuoxIzaya and ShinraxCelty. Izaya and Shinra are headed to a summer festival. Shizuo's working at a stand while he texts Celty. The four's feelings might be mutual, but there are just misunderstandings in the way.


-Note- Set when they are still in high school. Location is fiction. My friends are going to a festival and I am jealous lol.

ShizuoxIzaya, CeltyxShinra

* * *

**Summer Night**

* * *

Shinra tried his best not to cry, as he stumbled, both hands stretched forwards into an awkward hug. "Celty, I'll see you later!" It was a rather exaggerated gesture for just going out to a summer festival for that night.

Celty shrugged, pushing away what seemed like the hundredth hug aimed her way that night, hurriedly, out of embarrassment. She could already feel the chilling glance that one tossed at them from the entrance of the hallway. Izaya leaned against the door, awaiting his friend, looking darker than usual in his ominous black yukata. Walking over to him, they could begin to see the red glimmer weaving itself around the fabric in the form of intricate designs. Shinra himself wore one in white and gray patterns, where simplicity contrasted his classmate's in ways that suited the young doctor to be.

"Ready?" Velvety voice befitting the sly informer rang. The tone was excruciatingly sweet, but at the same time, it foreshadowed an unnecessary future if Shinra failed to hurry up. The male who was addressed smiled back into the hostile crimson eyes and nodded casually. Of course it was only the bespectacled teen that could easily ignore this type of subtle yet pinpointed attack from his companion. They understood each other and got along very well, though Celty wouldn't try to understand any of it. She would only watch in disparagement at the visible tension forming between two teenagers, and she was unfortunately the cause of it.

It did not seem like she had to worry further, for soon as they were out the door, the two young boys started to discuss their strong dislike for the new lunch menu, as well as plotting to do something about it. They did argue over which idea should be used in place; crab egg and sweet sauce or fatty tuna. Neither seemed to win the argument because one would reason in formulas and calculations, while the other was just plain cryptic, dodging reason with word plays. They slid like oil and water against each other's conversations, Shinra waving his hands high in strong gestures, while Izaya waved one index finger side to side.

Though they argued, they never lost sight of each other or the road once. Shinra had the city mapped out in his head like a giant maze, while Izaya remembered which street to turn at. They both refused to walk straight, with the bespectacled one turning round and round, while the other seemed to want to hop onto anything higher than the sidewalk. Yet their paces faltered together and sped up together, so they were constantly side by side.

"I still wish Celty was here," Shinra muttered.

Izaya sighed plastering a frown over his visage, and a hand over his chest in mock despair. "Even though you have me?"

"Hahaha," His companion's face split into a charming smile, but his laugh was dry. "Ew."

The raven haired teen's face split into an identical smile as well, as he pushed Shinra off the sidewalk where the cars were zooming around. He, however, latched a hand onto a pole and swung right back in.

"Anyways, wouldn't she feel out of place? It's a bunch of stalls with food she can't eat," the informer said as if nothing happened just now.

The other teen seemed to contemplate it, also ignoring the fact that he could have just died right then or at least have been seriously injured. "I still wanted to hang out with her."

"Hmm," Izaya tapped his chin, his eyes focused sideways in thought. "If you go home early, there's a nice place to see fireworks without anyone bothering you two."

"Really?" It got the other boy's attention. He pulled out his wallet from inside his yukata sleeve. "How much?"

The informer smirked, "There's a passageway around your street, remember that dark alley? If you keep going, it leads to the back of the building. From there, go right and you'll reach an abandoned apartment. Climb to the very top."

Walking slowly now, Shinra started to put the wallet back into his sleeve and thought about it for a great while before guessing. "Oh. You're not ew at all," Izaya pushed him, and he toppled back over. "Uh, lunch should be fatty tuna?" Another push. "You're being generous and the info's free?" Shove.

"What? Uhhh, oh. Shizuo-kun's going to be there." Izaya's hand hesitated and the doctor to be grinned. "He said he was going to work at a stand with his upperclassman from middle school. I would have thought you'd know."

The informer rolled his eyes. "I've been keeping track. He just keeps breaking everything so they keep switching his job…"

Shinra eyed his classmate in an is that so way, but he kept silent. They were away from the main street now so the darkness was able to conceal most of their facial expressions. Except, just like how the red linings of the teen's yukata would gleam from the scarce moonlight, so did the faint blush on his cheeks. It was rare that his friend would show that kind of weakness, so Shinra would look away thoughtfully, because he too knew the feeling.

In silence, the two reached a bustling entrance. The paper lanterns were hung and tied from stand to stand, creating a parallel pathway. From what they could see above the heads of the swarming crowd was a giant stage featuring a taiko drum and it's volunteer drummers dressed in blue uniforms. Probably behind the stage was the alter, and then the field to view the fireworks. The damp summer air still clung loosely even after the sun was long gone. It merged with the fragrance of various festival food, a hint of burnt noodles and juicy barbecues.

"Where do you want to go first?" Shinra asked, and could tell that his friend flinched. Smiling to himself, the bespectacled male changed his question. "Let's go greet Shizuo-kun. Maybe we'd see other people from class too."

"Why would I want to see him? That barbarian pisses me off," Izaya's crimson eyes darkened and narrowed, pretending after all this talk that he still hated Shizuo. Shinra had to hand it to him though, he was good at acting if he needed to. He guessed it was because they were back near society now that Izaya suddenly turned back into his icy self. Those crimson eyes glimmered and the mouth followed in a twisted smirk when he watched all the people come and go. "I only asked where he was stationed so I could enjoy watching the people in peace. Humans are so fascinating…I love them."

Shinra did not mention Shizuo was human as well because when his friend was like this, he actually feared for his life.

Luckily, Kadota crossed their line of vision.

* * *

Shizuo sank down heavily into one plastic chair after moving ingredients over from the van to the stand. It would have been an easy task if he didn't have to repeatedly climb the hellishly steep stairs. He was allowed to take a break until they ran out, which would be a while, but the blonde didn't want to risk the chance of being unable to find his way back so he decided to station himself nearby until they needed him again. He fanned himself with a flier, picking at his dark tank top to let some air in, but to no avail. It was just too musty, and the blonde gave up, closing his eyes and tossing his head backwards. As if waiting for that exact timing, his phone vibrated.

Lazily sticking his hand into his jean pocket, he took out his cell phone and checked the screen. Momentarily blinding him with its yellowish glow, he found that Celty had given him a text message. The two had become acquaintances and over time, great friends, after Shinra introduced them on the first day of high school. Perhaps it was because of their inhumane abilities, or their real friendly nature, or both of it, but they had connected almost instantaneously.

[Hey Shizuo, how are you doing?]

Shizuo thumbed a simple message back over. [Fine. You?]

His phone vibrated again. [I'm bored. I can't really go to the festival with Shinra, so I'm going to just watch a movie.]

[Cool. Aw, sorry you can't come. Shinra's here? Haven't seen him yet.]

Celty sighed an imaginary sigh of relief, forming a fist over her chest. [It might be a good thing. Just don't hurt him even if he's with someone, okay?]

Shizuo frowned. [I don't think that he would cheat on you.]

[Noooo, that's not what I meant! Lol. I don't want to risk getting you mad, so I won't say his name.] Celty would have giggled if she could. Shinra was faithful, and even though they weren't actually going out, she knew she was starting to have some sort of feelings for her roommate. He was still just a high schooler though, but when she was with him, she felt like a schoolgirl herself.

[…Damn. Flea bastard is here too? Okay…I'm sorry if Shinra dies.] Shizuo got up from his chair with a start and furrowed his brows tightly. He dug his heels deeply into the ground where it split into several dry cracks before he could concentrate enough not to break his phone. [Jk.]

"Shizuo~?" A tanned boy in dreadlocks called out from the booth.

[Sorry I have to go, I'll ttyl. Have fun with the movie.]

Celty texted back a bye, and have fun too, before turning on a rather cliché looking alien movie.

Shizuo got up and pocketed his cell phone. He let himself in through the flap on the side of the stall, and Tom waved him over. He smiled wearily. "Was that sound you, and are you okay?"

The giant had to think about it, before he realized he had killed the ground earlier. He blushed, nodding his head in apology, and muttered. "Sorry, I just heard some bad news. That's all."

"If you're busy, you can leave early," Tom offered, but this time, Shizuo shook his head vigorously. His deep cinnamon eyes dropped their gaze in shame, hoping that he didn't cause trouble for anyone. Tom knew that the blonde cared a lot about others, but he had a problem with rejection and violence throughout his middle school years. They haven't met a lot after they both moved onto high school, but it looked like Shizuo hadn't changed all that much. The older boy patted his junior on the head, although with slight difficulty because of the blonde's monstrous height.

Shizuo slightly chuckled at the irony, while trying to explain himself. "Just that…someone I really don't like is supposed to be here…"

"You've made yourself an enemy? That's rare, you usually don't remember anyone you fought," Tom teased.

The blonde had to think about it for a moment. An enemy? It was pretty accurate. He hardly ever remembered anyone he had beaten up, but Izaya was annoying. He didn't allow himself to be hurt usually, and just pulled the strings from afar where he could watch. Tom watched Shizuo's face contort into several different patterns of frustration as he contemplated his rival, and the brunette had to say he was genuinely amused. The blonde finally started to describe "the flea bastard" from the beginning of their meeting and about the various horrible things he could somewhat recall, and other times just about him wanting to kill that hated guy.

"Why don't you just ignore him?" Tom suggested, and Shizuo abruptly stopped speaking to ponder that too. The upperclassman couldn't help it. "It…sounds like you're having fun."

"Huh?" The blonde accidentally crushed the spatula he was holding. He had been helping out with the cooking without actually realizing it.

"Because," Tom pulled the bent spatula out and stuck a new one in. "You don't usually talk about people. At least not to me. It sounds like you're having fun being around this guy, whether that fun is beating him up or not."

"I don't know Tom-san," Shizuo shrugged. "Sometimes he pisses me off even when he's not there."

This time, it was the older one who was stumped. "Huh?"

"Like now."

"Ohhh…" Tom nodded.

"And," Shizuo seemed to be thinking hard about this. "Sometimes I just want to see him and beat the crap out of him for no reason."

The mature brunette decided to hold his tongue right there and concentrate on his work. It seemed that the blonde didn't realize what was actually behind that feeling, and Tom didn't want to be the one giving out ideas.

Right then, Izaya crossed their line of vision…

Izaya, and his pale skin glistening against the cheap light of the paper lanterns, his beautiful yukata accentuating his graceful posture. Shizuo accidentally let the food on his side of the grill burn, as he followed the male with his eyes. He was with Kadota.

Tom turned to see his dazed worker, and called out. "Shizuo?"

Izaya was startled by the sudden outburst of his rivals name. He turned around, and watched in shock, their eyes meeting for a split second before the blonde turned to answer his upperclassman. Tom reached out for the blonde's hand. "Are you alright? You're not burned are you?"

The informer fumbled around in his mind, but he didn't believe that was anyone in Raijin academy. Who…is that…?

The two of them stared.

* * *

I wanted to write about their general friend groups. It was supposed to be a oneshot...but I'm starting to wonder if it's okay to leave it this way so I'm thinking of what to do.

Thank you so much for reading. Any kind of support or feedback will be greatly appreciated.


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